The Sound Rules in Reading the Quran (Tajwid) in Qutb Al-Din al-Shirazi’s Music Notation

In the Islamic world, starting from Al-Kindī (d. 874), Al-Fārābī (d. 950), Ibn Sīnā (d. 1034), and Safī al-Dīn al-Urmawī (d. 1294) used the abjad notation to write music. Of these writers, the most systematic one is Al-Urmawī. Whilst other music writers showed musical index with the abjad letter notation, al-Urmawī created music with and without lyrics with the abjad notes. Qutb al-Dīn Al-Shirāzī, from the subsequent generation after Al-Urmawī, introduced innovations in the abjad notation. In our study, we will analyse the essence of these innovations and show that the inspiration of Al-Shirāzī in his musical works was based on the sound rules in reading the Qurān (tajwīd).